- Derrick Henry has separated himself in the NFL Rushing Leader oddsboard at -305.
- Henry is off to a fantastic start and is on pace to break a lot of rushing records this season.
- King Henry has also moved up to third in the MVP board at BetOnline with his +600 odds.
The 2021 NFL season is not even at its halfway point but Derrick Henry is already running away with the league’s rushing title, both in the stats sheet and the betting oddsboards.
King Henry opened as the clear odds on favorite to lead the NFL in rushing yards at the best NFL sportsbooks. But after being listed at +350 to do so during the preseason, he is now a -305 to repeat to top rusher.
While Henry’s odds have shortened, his closest rivals’ prices have faded. Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook who was second to Henry at +500 before the start of the season, is now listed at +5000. Cleveland’s Nick Chubb, who is currently out with an injury, has drifted from +700 to +1300. Only Dallas’ Ezekiel Elliott’s odds have improved since the start of the season. But even at +800 from +1600, he’s still now dimensions away from Henry.
On Pace to Break A LOT of Records
Derrick Henry is on pace to break A LOT of records. ??#Titans pic.twitter.com/xucSE6iuYj
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) October 21, 2021
Henry is off to a remarkable start that he is on pace to break a lot of records. Right now, he is in line to beat the records for most carries in a season (459), rushing yards in a season (2,219 yards ), touches in a season (504), and yards from scrimmage in a season (2,610 yards ).
After six games, King Henry has rushed for a total of 783 yards on 162 carries. He is easily 260 yards ahead of his closest pursuer and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Just last Monday, Henry rushed for 146 yards on 20 carries with three rushing touchdowns to become the first player since LT in his MVP season to rush for three TDs in consecutive games.
Henry has rushed for 3 TDs in three out of his last five games and during that stretch, he’s rushed for at least 100 yards in every game, the longest such streak in the NFL since DeMarco Murray had eight straight 100-yard rushing games in 2014.
For the season, Henry has rushed for a total of 10 touchdowns, which ranks third in the league among teams, not players. Yes, Henry had more rush TD after six weeks than 30 NFL teams with only the Cleveland Browns at 13 and of course his Titans with 12. Take away his total from the Titans and technically, only the Browns have more rush TD than Henry this season.
Henry’s MVP Odds are Also Rising
A new MVP co-favorite ?
(btw Derrick Henry is still +2200, best non-QB odds in the league) pic.twitter.com/MqmiiotL9e
— BetMGM ? (@BetMGM) October 19, 2021
Henry’s otherworldly rushing performance has also caused his MVP odds to rise. After opening as a 65/1 to win MVP honors and staying at that price up until preseason, Henry has climbed all the way to third at +600 via the BetOnline App with only Dak Prescott and Kyler Muray having shorter odds than him at +400 and +425, respectively.
The other top NFL sportsbooks don’t have him that high, at least not yet. But he still has the shortest odds for a non-QB player. BetMGM and PointsBet have moved Henry up to +2500, the same odds that FoxBet is listing him at. Unibet and Bet365 currently have King Henry listed at +2000.
Quarterbacks have traditionally dominated the NFL’s MVP award with 38 out of the 57 undisputed winners coming from that position. A total of 16 running backs have won the NFL’s MVP award but only four since 2000 with Marshall Faulk (2000), Shaun Alexander (2005), LaDainian Tomlinson (2006), and Adrian Peterson (2012). Although the odds aren’t saying it yet, there’s a real chance we could be seeing the next one this year.
